MOT Fail On Oil Leak?

[Skippy]

Has anybody else had their Landrover fail on a power steering box oil leak, or any other leak for that matter?  :shock:  

For gods sake, it's a landrover it's going to leak!?

[muddyweb]

Not recently, but yes.

Any oil leak is potentially a test failure... a lot depends on the tester's discretion.

[Dr Neil]

i would of thought it depended on how bad the leak was, whether it was getting onto the brakes or if it was affecting the way the power steering operated.

[hobbit]

Unfortunately its a common fault on these boxes, and yes they will fail.

But you can try some additive to reduce the leak, or wipe down the box before you take it in for the mot, it may be a slow leak,

Some of the probs are from two pipes that go into the top of the steering box, they have a rubber grommet inside to seal it.

If its the bottom seal, bit more of a swine there, some can strip and be replaced, but like mine it was a unit change, not a great problem, and there are 2nd hand units available

Clean and dry the unit, swing it from lock to lock and have a look above and below for the leak, then take it from there

[seph234]

i got told to jet wash mine off of the box before the test then it only looked like it was a small leak and he gave me an advisory to get it done

[Alan Robertson]

Mine has had a small leak for years. A good de-grease with Gunk or similar just before the MOT has always done the trick.

[The Fat Controller]

m.o.t testers are a rule to themselves,the main rules are
1.will they get leaked on?
2.will they get dirty?
if you can reduce the chance of either of these they can be nearly human
 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[beast5680]

mine has a leak from the input shaft and if you leave it for a while it looks really bad as the oil spreads along the chassis but i cleaned it all off with degreaser and brake cleaner the day before the mot and it went straight thru

[Sharpshooter]

My tester said to me. "Have you just topped up you power steering fluid mate, To which i was going to say No, until i saw him winking, and he said "well you must have spilt a bit on the pump"

"Oh yes i replied :lol:

[Range Rover Blues]

When a steering box leaks from the main seal it can be indicative of wear in the main bearing, so it's on it's way out.  That said it takes a long time for it to become any worse.

The rule about leaks is not an easy one to apply, then it also depends on the tester's interpretation too.  A swivel can have a slow leak and provided it isn't running onto the road or any other componenets like rubber bushes or the brakes it can be left.  The steering however is a bit more serious, no one is going to looses control of their car because the swivel lost all it's oil (unless it seized) whereas if the PAS fluid ran out it could be bad!

[TimM]

I have a feeling that a leak that you would fail for is one that is likely to lead to your vehicle dripping sufficent fluid on the road to cause a danger to other road users, presumably for puddles of oil at a junction which could cause motorbikes etc to skid or fall off.

If this is right then any 'slow' leaks should be OK, if anyone wants to know for sure let me know as I know a tester and he can give me the 'official' rubbish from his book.

Tim.

[cstokes]

The official line on mot is that, transmission or engine oil leaks are not part of the mot unless it is affecting the operation of anouther system or component such as the braking system. ie: a crankshaft seal leak is not a fail but if it was being flung onto a front brake caliper or disc then it would be a fail.  All power steering leaks or brake fluid leaks are automatically a fail.

[Dr Neil]

:-k

[muddyweb]

As I understand it, they can also refuse to test a vehicle due to oil leaks in the same way they can if it is too dirty.

[Skippy]

Cheers for that guys, it's always interesting to hear the jargon that the testers hide behind!! :twisted:

It's all sorted now, although when you add all the welding that needed doing it came to over 500 quid  :shock:

SKINT AGAIN!

[seph234]

these land rovers are good arnt they :lol:  :lol: